Manly Mind

Motorcycles, Mustaches, Muscle. This site is the one-stop shop for guys to stay in the know. With 4 journalists covering Sports, Politics, Hobbies, and Gadgets/Fashion, you'll learn everything you need to thrive as a man in today's world. Men, hold on to you pants, because this site will rock your...pants.

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Friday, November 2, 2012

How to Clean and Gut a Fish

Men need manly things

Men love women. They are fun, attractive, and intriguing. Women are great. But let's face it, sometimes as a man, you just need a break and really, you feel like you need something to restore your sense of manly dignity. Playing in dirt or blackening your hands with car oil are both great ways to restore that rusticness. However, in my opinion, there isn't much that will restore your manly pride like catching a beautiful trout on a fly that you tied, then cleaning and gutting it and bringing it home to eat. I think this appeals to the caveman/hunter/gatherer in each of us.

Cleaning and gutting fish is a great way to feel manly

On the flip side, imagine with me that you have tied a perfect bug that looks so amazing that even you are starting to think that it looks delicious, you just made the most perfect cast and lo and behold, you caught an amazing 18 inch rainbow trout! You are at the height of manliness. You start thinking about that fish frying with some olive oil and lemon pepper and you start salivating. You're getting really pumped and the testosterone is surging through your veins. Then you realize that you have no idea how to even kill the darn fish let alone gut it. In fact, the thought of gutting the fish makes you a little squeamish. You don't know how to gut and clean a fish? All of a sudden, you don't feel so manly anymore. You look around hoping that nobody has noticed this breech in your wall of manly toughness..... This was my first experience. And if you want to ensure that yours is different, watch the video below.

Clean and gut your fish with confidence

This is honestly the best way to clean and gut a fish. With the method he demonstrates, you pull out all the nasty insides at once just quick and easy. His method of pulling the skin off is quite effective also.

The last matter is that of killing the fish once you've caught it. If you don't leave the fish on the bank to suffocate, or if you want to speed its passing, the easiest way is to just take a river rock and hit it on the head a few times.

So there ya have it! Now you can go fishing with confidence - not having to wonder what the guys will think of you. So get out there and enjoy manliness in all its rustic glory! And, you're welcome :)

Friday, October 12, 2012

You're on a hot date at Texas Roadhouse. The lovely young waitress asks you, "How would you like your steak cooked?" You've been asked this before, and you know what you're going to say before your mind can even process the thought. You look over at your girlfriend with a grin and say in the roughest, toughest, most manly voice you can, "I'll have my steak...RARE."

What is it about men that makes them want to eat the bloodiest rarest steak they can palate? Is it a matter of compensating for something (ha!), or does a bloody, rare steak actually taste better? Perhaps it's the same driving force that gives men the desire to hunt for elk and deer.

According to the above picture, there's actually a step above "Rare" that a man (or a woman technically) can choose to have their steak cooked. It's known as "Blue Rare." At this point, your slab of meet is still "mooing." The fact is, a steak should at least be cooked to the point where the juices begin to flow. There is a point when it's not cooked enough, and there's a point when it's cooked too much. Until you're confident you know what you're doing, you might have to slice up one of the steaks a few times to see the depth of browned meat and the flow of delicious juices. Just practice, you'll get better.
If you're one of those guys that really wants a "science" of how to cook a perfect steak, then watch this video. If you're the more adventurous type, than trial and error will be fine.

But will eating a rare steak actually hurt you? Why is it "acceptable" to eat a bloody rare steak, but not a bloody rare hamburger? Or a partially cooked chicken breast? You might already know this, but the answer is really quite simple. With steak, only the outside has been exposed to the air, (and therefore bacteria) whereas hamburger has been ground up and all sides of the meat have had an opportunity to attract nasty forms of disease. As long as the complete exterior of a steak has been seared, the interior is ok to have a little blood. Just keep in mind that really rare steak should be eaten at the first sitting. If you're going to save the steak for leftovers, then you should sear the outside once again. This will keep you from contaminating the newly exposed raw portions of the meat.

How should you pick your piece of steak at the grocery store? Just remember that the more marbling a steak has, the more juicy it will be. Marbling is the tiny lines of white fat across the slab that you won't find on purely red, tougher steaks. If you buy the redder steaks without marbling, just marinade them longer and they'll turn out alright.

This pic is compliments of themancookbook.com

Prime will be the most juicy and delicious, Choice falls second, and Select takes a bow at third. As far as health goes, for those seeking to shed a few pounds of fat, priority is opposite. As Arnold Schwarzenegger once said, "If it tastes good, spit it out."

Thursday, October 11, 2012

After last weeks post about beards, I decided to keep this follicle-train moving. This week we are discussing Manscaping... Is it right for you? Do you even know what it is? Is it true that it's more addictive than crack cocaine? Does it grow back thicker, darker, and fuller??? All these questions and more will be answered in this this life-changing blog post. You'll know what you need to about making the decision to trim or not. Let's get started by watching this introductory video compliments of Seinfeld.

No — shaving hair doesn't change its thickness, color or rate of growth.

Shaving facial or body hair gives the hair a blunt tip. The tip might feel coarse or "stubbly" for a time as it grows out. During this phase, the hair might be more noticeable and perhaps appear darker or thicker — but it's not.

Ok. So that's comforting. But it still doesn't fix the problem of "the itch." Once a man shaves his chest, as exemplified by Jerry, the itch comes back after roughly a weeks time. What do we do about it? Here are some answers:

Shave regularly

Wax regularly (less frequent)

Nair (kills the hair root) - beware of Nair though (see pics below)

results vary - rashes may occur (as seen in next two pictures

Do your research on the allergens in Nair, because you don't be these

guys...that looks like it reeeeeally hurts.

(especially the armpit guy...whew, that's rough)

Now, that we've explored the chest shaving side, let's look at the other end of the spectrum. You could let your wild chest mane grow and eventually evolve (pokemon style) into a rug of sophisticated manliness. I call this "The Natural Manscape" (As show by these dudes).

Or you could get really creative with Manscaping Patterns, shapes, or even words into your chest mane. Think of it as a canvas with untapped artistic potential ready to be trimmed into it. I mean, check out this guy.

(talk about a chick magnet)

In conclusion, I propose a solution for us men. Knowledge is power, right? I propose that manscaping be taught in all middle-school development education courses. By understanding the long-term ramifications of manscaping/not manscaping, pubescent boys should be able to make the decision if this trimming matter is right for them or not.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Canal Jumping | Manly Mind
I recently heard about a sport in the Netherlands called Canal Jumping. I'm always looking for manly things, so I decided to check it out. Here is some of what I learned:

Canal Jumping is a sport played in the Netherlands (or Holland, whichever you prefer). This Dutch sport originated years ago with farmers who needed to get over the canals, but it is also said to be used during times of war by the soldiers. The official name of canal jumping is Fierljeppen which translates to "far jumping."

So what is Canal Jumping?

The contestants use long poles kind of like pole vaulting, but instead of holding the pole as they run, the pole sits in the water as they run up to it. A contestant gets as much speed as possible, jumps onto the pole, and climbs to the top of it before he/she falls onto the sand (or in the water). The objective is to climb as high as possible on the pole so that you can land as far away from the platform as possible. Still a little confused? Here's a video of the world record.

I don't know what you think, but I think this looks like a pretty manly sport. That would require some serious muscle to climb up that pole and then it would take some toughness to land that hard in the sand.

ESPN was my inspiration for this blog post and the reason I even found out about canal jumping. If you would like to check out the full-length video from ESPN that explains a lot more about canal jumping, follow this link.

Friday, October 5, 2012

The BEARD - "a collection of hair that grows on the chin, upper lip, cheeks and neck of human beings. Usually, only pubescent or adult males are able to grow beards." This week's post is the beginning of a two-part post series about all things hair for men.

Since the beginning of time, the beard has been a distinct characteristic of man. The Bible tells of John the Baptist who was a Nazarite. These guys were were commanded to never cut their beards...and to eat locusts and honey. Weird, I know...but very manly indeed. In this installment of Manlymind, we will analyze the different beards that a modern man needs to know about.

A quick history of the beard:
From earliest records, we learn that man has always revered the beard. Ancient Greece, Asia, and India all regarded the beard as a symbol of wisdom, virtue, virility, and power. Not until Alexander the Great did shaving come into popularity. He ordered his soldiers to be clean shaven as to prevent enemies from grabbing the beard when in hand-to-hand combat (I shave my beard for the same reason fyi).

The beard went into hibernation after Christ during the dark ages. However, the Rennassaince brought it back in the late 17th century with some painters, and some other free-thinkers like that. The beard really hit it's stride in the 1800's. I mean, just look at these sweet Civil War beards:

That brings us to the modern-day era beards. Over the last few years, fashion beards have really come on the scene. So, I'mma break it down for you with this graphic:

I wish you the best in your bear exploration, and hope that you experiment with all the above. Send pictures, especially of the "super mario."

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Josh Hamilton Story | Manly Mind
I know that we just recently posted about a baseball player, but here is another one. This story is quite different, though, as it's about Josh Hamilton's life off the field just as much as it's about his life on the field. It's also not your typical "drugs in baseball" story that you see all over the headlines these days. Josh Hamilton is a baseball player and plays for the Texas Rangers.

The Josh Hamilton Story

Josh Hamilton grew up in North Carolina. He was an awesome young man who was always friendly and cheerful, but somewhat reserved. As documented in this Sports Illustrated article, he did a lot of things to help those around him and has a truly inspirational story.

Josh Hamilton was drafted as the first overall pick in the 1999 MLB Draft, but soon fell victim to drug addictions and alcoholism. He spent nearly four years away from baseball before he cleaned up and made it back to the sport. He is not shy about telling his story and he says that a strong relationship with God helped him overcome his addictions.

After being tangled up in addictions that nearly destroyed his life, he fought his way back to be one of the best players in Major League Baseball. In 2010 he won the American League MVP and he is a five-time MLB All-Star. After the Rangers won the 2010 ALCS, Hamilton's teammates (mindful of his past struggles) decided to celebrate their victory with ginger ale, instead of the traditional champagne. What a classy move by his teammates!

I know I didn't go into much detail about his story here on this post, but I hope that you will read more about it. There is also rumor that they are going to make a Josh Hamilton movie soon, so keep an eye out for that.

So you shot your first big Elk. What now? Elk hunting is one of the most adventurous activities a man can do. This isn't your grandpa's trail-driving road hunt. Often times you have to hike many miles up a mountain and plan on camping out for a few days. Imagine a crisp cool morning, early in the month of October, coming over a ridge to see a herd of elk grazing the meadow.

Depending on how much experience you have had around wild game, you might start to get a little nervous before you take your big shot. Make sure if you have a bull tag, your target animal has antlers. It's best that you have a minimum caliber of .270 for elk. I've heard of hunters taking down an elk with a .243, but I don't recommend it. Aim for the vitals, relax, and squeeze the trigger. If possible, have someone watch your elk with binoculars to see if you connect with a clean hit.

After taking down the animal, sometimes it's not easy to track where it runs to. This is another good reason to have a fellow hunter watch your shot through binoculars. You're going to need a good knife to get the next part of your job done. Here is a picture of the gutting knife set that I own. It comes with a knife, gut hook, and bone saw.

After taking down the elk, you need to cool it off as soon as possible. Do this by cutting up from the anus to the neck along the abdomen. This will release a lot of heat from the body. Cut the Cut around the trachea (wind pipe) and pull out all the innards. For best results, use a gut hook to avoid piercing the large intestine or stomach. For cutting through the chest cavity, use the bone saw. If the elk you take is a bull, you need to leave proof of sex attached in case you get stopped by a game warden.

Skinning the elk is probably the hardest part, but it'll be necessary if you need to quarter the elk before packing it out. Use the backside of the gut hook to peel away the skin from the underlying tissue and membrane. After quartering the elk, it's time to pack it out. It's best if you have horses, but a four-wheeler will work too. Happy Hunting!